Courtesy photo
Pumpkin Spice Cookies with cream cheese filling are sure to sweeten up the holidays this year. The recipe and photo are from “The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Baking” cookbook.

Here’s the perfect fall-inspired treat from “The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Baking” cookbook for family and friends who’ll be visiting your home, hostess gifts, book club, work, and school parties this holiday season.

Everyday Baking features 118 original recipes by celebrated baker and longtime Almanac collaborator Ken Haedrich. A winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Award, Haedrich may be best known as the author of “Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie,” which was recently named one of the best baking books of the past 25 years by “Cooking Light” magazine.

“Everyday Baking,” with its handy reference section and time-tested advice sprinkled throughout, demystifies the art of baking and will inspire home bakers of all skill levels to make delicious breakfast treats, after-school snacks, and impressive desserts. The easy-to-follow recipes in “Everyday Baking” don’t demand unusual ingredients or abstract cooking techniques, but rather just a desire to make delicious home-baked goods completely from scratch.

“Everyday Baking” is available online at Almanac.com or wherever books and magazines are sold.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

From The Everyday Baking Cookbook, page 47

Soft and fragrant, these are wonderful “as is” or with the cream cheese filling (see Variation). Make them slightly smaller if you plan to fill them.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

½ cup mashed or canned pumpkin

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, gradually adding the sugars. Beat in the egg and yolk, pumpkin, and vanilla. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into a separate bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, a third at a time, until evenly mixed. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350º degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter two large baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. With lightly floured hands, roll the dough into 1 ½ -inch-diameter balls and place them on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between. Bake one sheet at a time on the center oven rack for 16 to 17 minutes. When done, the tops will be dome-shape and yield slightly to light finger pressure. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 30 cookies.

VARIATION

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Filling

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon lemon extract

Using an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese, gradually beating in the sugar. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts. Beat until smooth. Refrigerate until needed. When the cookies have cooled completely, spread the flat side with some of the filling and press the flat side of a second cookie onto the filling to make a sandwich.